LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – A study commissioned by Haskell Indian Nations University says the school is good for the Lawrence-area economy.

The study found the school has a $23.1 million economic impact in the area. The study was completed in December and shared this month with the Haskell’s board of regents, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.

“Haskell creates value from multiple perspectives,” authors of the study concluded. “The university serves a range of industries in Douglas County, supports local businesses, and benefits society nationwide from an expanded economy and improved quality of life.”

The study by Economic Modeling Specialists International was based on student and financial data from fiscal year 2013-14.

Haskell President Venida Chenault said school officials hope the new economic analysis will show that investing in Haskell is a wise decision. Because Haskell is a federal university operated by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education, it must adhere to federal protocols for a lot of its operations.

“All of our major services have to be contracted through a pretty rigorous and time-consuming process,” Haskell President Venida Chenault said. “As a result of that, a lot of our current contracts aren’t being bid out to the local Lawrence community, which we would like to change, and the state, which we would like to change.”

The city’s economic development director, Britt Crum-Cano, said the city financially depends on its institutions of higher education, such as Kansas University and Haskell.

“If you look at how many people they employ and the percentage of the population that they make up, those have to have some impacts,” she said. “They bring in a lot of students to add to our population, so it’s just common sense those students are going to be spending and bringing dollars into the community.”

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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com